DIY: A Baby Carrier Costume for Baby!

I’ve got a little guy this Halloween and I wanted to make a costume for him (both for fun and to save money), but I wasn’t sure what to do. Since he’s only 4 months old and he can’t walk, crawl, or sit up, I wanted to be sure to make him a costume that would be visible when he was being held. Mommy’s arms or baby carrier have a way of covering up those cute little costumes! 

So, in hopes of some inspiration, I did a Google image search of baby costumes, diy baby costumes, mother-baby costumes... Soon enough, I had some ideas! My next step was to go to some thrift stores to see what materials I could find, and make a more specific plan from there. By the time I left Goodwill, I knew exactly what I was going to do: use a stuffed animal to make our baby carrier into a costume for Isaac. 

It was easy and inexpensive, and exactly what I was hoping for! Here’s what I did:

Start with a stuffed animal that is approximately the size of your baby. I found this plush pig at Goodwill for $0.49. 

You’ll also need a Baby Bjorn style baby carrier, some type of well-fitting hat for your baby, a strong needle, thread, scissors, and safety pins. (You’ll be able to disassemble the costume when you’re done with it and use the hat and baby carrier as usual again) Since I already had a baby carrier, hat, and sewing supplies at home, this costume cost me $0.49 plus tax! 

First, we’ll divide the body into 3 sections: the head, the front (including arms and legs), and the back. Using a pair of sharp scissors, start at the bottom of the animal’s neck and cut a line straight down the back, about 1-2” behind its limbs. 

Continue cutting across the animal’s rear end and then up the other side. Stop cutting at the neck. Then, cut straight across the top of the back to where you started cutting. You can scrap the back piece--we won’t be using that. And go ahead and take out the stuffing, setting it aside for later. The animal should look like this:

Next, we’re going to remove the head to use as a hat. For my stuffed animal, it worked best to cut along the seam connecting the face to the body. Depending on how your animal is structured, you may need to cut yours a little differently. 

Because we’re using furry fabric, we aren’t going to finish the edges, but you’ll want to trim any jagged edges for a neater look. 

You can remove some for the stuffing from the animal’s head, but don’t take it all out right away. For my pig, I left stuffing in his nose so it would hold its shape. 

Now it’s time for your baby to help! 

First, thread your needle. I chose to use a thread that was NOT the color of the hat so that it’s easy to see when it comes time to disassemble the costume.

Place the hat you are using on your little one (If you can prop him or her upright it will make this step easier). Take your stuffed animal head and fit it on top of the hat. You’ll want to play around with it a bit to figure out the best placement for it (you may want to play with the amount of stuffing you use at this point too). Once you’ve got it the way you like it, grab the hat and head, pinching them tightly between your thumb and index finger to keep the head in place on the hat.

Take your needle and thread, and sew 3-5 stitches right where you are holding them together. This is called tacking.

Put the hat, now with the attached animal head, back on your baby’s head and adjust it as necessary. 

Repeat the previous steps about 5 times, working your way around the hat, until you have secured the two pieces together.

And that’s the hat!

Now for the body (you’ll need help from your baby in this part too).

Put your baby in the baby carrier facing away from you, folding down the front as shown.

Take note of where the top of the crease is when your baby is in there. You’re going to want to make sure the animal costume comes all the way up to this point. You can either safety pin it in place or just use a safety pin to mark the spot that you want to sew them together. Make sure it’s centered!

Now, take off the baby carrier and tack the costume to the carrier all the way across the top (you only need to stitch through the exterior layer of fabric on the baby carrier). 

Next, you’ll need to try it on again with your baby to figure out how far down to attach the bottom of the costume. 

If your animal has a round belly like mine, you’ll want to use some of the old stuffing to fill it in. To keep the mess minimal, you can put the stuffing in a plastic bag or pillow case, or you can do what I did and make a quick little pillow to hold it. However you do it, stick that stuffing under the costume before you determine where to attach the bottom.

Pull the costume down and either safety pin it in place or just use a safety pin to mark the spot that you want to sew them together. Then, take it off and tack in place. I didn’t need to stitch across the entire bottom edge; I just tacked it in one spot. The shape of my pig didn’t require the sides to be attached, but if your animal’s sides are falling forward or inward, you may want to tack those in place too. 

And there you have it! A cute, inexpensive, visible costume for your sweet little baby this Halloween!